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30 June 2007

ONLINE MAGAZINE FOR JULY/AUGUST 2007

The latest issue of Online magazine is a good one. There’s a nice article on “teachable moments”—those occasional opportunities to teach clients—at the point of need and when they are most approachable—techniques for better searching (and the value of the librarian at the same time. The author, William Badke [TrinityWesternUniversity, Langley, British Columbia, Canada]. writes of these, “when it works well, a light comes on. We can only hope it will stay shining through the next search and the one after that. Making at least some attempt to raise skill levels is the way to help our patrons out of mediocrity.” Online 31(4):43-45

I really liked the article by Mary Ellen Bates (editor of Online) on Blog Searching with Technorati on page 56. I can’t wait to try it myself. Her editorial, Silos, Us, Them, and User-Generated Content (p. 5) is wonderful as well. She asks, “Is there a[n information] silo for information professionals and a different one for library users?” “Despite our best efforts [and those of Library 2.0], information silos are likely to continue, and users, whether they generate content of not, will need our help to find what they need in whatever silo it’s stored.”

Check the Online website to see which of the articles from this issue are available free (July/August) wasn't up when I posted this.

2 comments:

Thanks for the kind comments. But I should point out that Mary Ellen Bates does not edit ONLINE. She writes the Online Spotlight column. It's Marydee Ojala who edits the magazine, wrote the editorial to which you refer, and also authors the magazine's business research column, called "Dollar Sign."

ABOUT ME

Judith A. Siess is a recognized expert in one-person librarianship and interpersonal networking. She was the editor and publisher of The One-Person Library: A Newsletter for Librarians and Management from 1998-2009 and is the author of articles for publications such as American Libraries and Searcher. An active member of SLA since 1980, she was the inaugural chair of its SOLO Librarian’s division, which is now the fourth largest division of the association with nearly 1,000 members. She has drawn from her more than twenty years’ experience to write seven books (see links). She is trying to retire, but it isn't working.